1. Will the Iron Bowl have iron-clad TV ratings?: Whether the Alabama-Auburn showdown (known throughout the state of Alabama as the Iron Bowl) in three weeks will have any intrigue depends on whether undefeated Alabama and once-beaten Auburn can hold serve until then. Auburn's task this week of playing a Georgia team still fighting to stay in the picture for the Eastern Conference tiebreaker is more daunting than Alabama facing Mississippi State, which already has four SEC losses and is just trying to get to bowl eligibility at 6-6.

Georgia has won eight of the last 11 games in the series vs. Auburn, which is the Deep South's oldest rivalry. With the series tied at 54-54-8, Saturday's game will be the 117th meeting between the schools and the 70th consecutive season the teams have met.

Once upon a time with athletic directors Cliff Hare of Auburn and Charles Herty of Georgia, the teams had a simple way of dividing the gate receipts. "They would come to Dean Hare's house on Gay Street in Auburn after the game in Columbus to divide the money," late Auburn coach Shug Jordan once said. "They would take the gate receipts out of an old cigar box, spread it on the kitchen table and say, 'A dollar for you and a dollar for us,' until the game proceeds were divided equally between the two schools."

2. Gamecocks try to hold serve: South Carolina, the only team this year to beat East Division leader Missouri, has a chance Saturday at home vs. struggling Florida to close out its SEC schedule at 6-2 and then sit back to see if Missouri (open this week) can finish its SEC schedule with wins at Ole Miss and at home against Texas A&M. Though the Gators have won the last 19 of 22 games over South Carolina, no SEC team has been thinned by injuries this season like Florida.

The Gators have struggled to keep a consistent lineup on the field this season due to injuries - only five players have started all nine games. In last Saturday's 35-17 home loss to Vanderbilt, Florida started its sixth different offensive line alignment of the season. Eight different linemen have started this season for the Gators. Senior center Jonotthan Harrison is the only Gator on the offensive line to start every game at the same position.

3. Bowl positioning: Eight SEC teams (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and South Carolina) are already bowl-eligible. Vanderbilt at 5-4, can gain bowl eligibility on Saturday with a victory at Kentucky. Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi State all have four wins each. The Vols, 4-6, have a legitimate shot since they close at home against Vanderbilt on Nov. 23 and at Kentucky on Nov. 30. '

Florida at 4-5 appears doomed. It has three games left, but two of them are against BCS top-15 teams with the season-finale against No. 2-rated Florida State. Mississippi State, which should drop to 4-6 this weekend after hosting No. 1 Alabama, has to close the regular season at Arkansas and at home against Ole Miss.

So where will LSU land? If the Tigers don't lose again to finish 9-3, I'm guessing Cotton in Dallas or Outback in Tampa. One more loss might drop them in the Gator in Jacksonville, but it also depends on how the league's other bowl-eligible teams finish and if the SEC places one or two teams in BCS bowls.

Talkin' Tigers: LSU's loss in TuscaloosaSports reporter Rachel Whittaker and columnist Ron Higgins analyze LSU losing the battle in the trenches as they fell to Alabama, and where they go from here now in their second bye week with Texas A&M next Nov. 23. Watch every Tuesday and Thursday for your exclusive look at LSU sports.